Monthly Archives: February 2014

Leon Kennedy is a busy man. As if his current workload isn’t enough, he has to go back in time today to relive one of his past adventures with a new HD re-release of Resident Evil 4 for PC. Now available on Steam, the $19.99 download features the Separate Ways epilogue, support for Steam achievements, cloud saving, trading cards, and controllers, and a host graphical upgrades, including sharpened text, enhanced textures, and a bump to 60 frames per second.

Call of Duty: Ghosts – Onslaught has gone live for PC, PS3, and PS4. The $14.99 drop includes four new maps, detailed below, the new Maverick Assault Rifle/Sniper Rifle combo weapon, and the first installment of Extinction mode’s new four-part series. The inaugural episode, Nightfall, sets up the first contact between humans and Cryptids as well as introduces new characters, two alien species, a three-story-tall boss, and the Venom-X weapon.

Following the release last week of new character shots, NIS has sent out a new batch of screens showing the more violent side of dungeon-crawling. The latest media shows the combat system in action, including party members’ skills and some of the enemies. It was also announced that free post-launch DLC will be available for the first month after release, with players able to augment their party with new recruits from a Disgaea-themed character pack off PSN. Five characters are set to answer the call to arms: Etna, Flonne, Sicily, Asagi, and of course, an unlucky Prinny.

Crate Entertainment’s action-RPG Grim Dawn has been updated on Steam Early Access to include the second act, Old Arkovia. The addition features an estimated 10-plus hours of gameplay, which includes a host of new material: 10 enemy types, 23 bosses, 35 character levels, 106 items, and a region. Players must choose carefully in how to proceed in Act II, as there is now a greater emphasis on consequences and innocent lives will be caught between their party and a new enemy, the Four Hills gang.

El Presidente is calling upon his loving people to assist him by taking part in a beta for Tropico 5. Through his minions at Kalypso, he has proclaimed that registration is now open for fellow would-be despots to sign up for the program, which is set to kick off next month. Chosen applicants will get to try their hand at several of the new features being introduced in 5, including dynasties as well as co-op and versus online play.

The first round of pre-registration for QuakeCon 2014 will begin on March 5. This year, the premium pre-registration stage will take place over four stages with four different packages. Details for all four rounds, including pricing ($50 to $175) and bonuses, are available below. The big event will once again take place in Dallas, TX, from July 17-July 20, and remains free for those that want to arrive day of and don’t mind waiting in line. However, per-registering is required for a guaranteed spot in the Bring Your Own Computer area this year.

Konami has revealed more info about Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain prequel Ground Zeroes. An early-bird bonus will be available for both games, with buyers of the first-run physical or launch-period online copies of Ground Zeroes receiving DLC for Phantom Pain. The pack will add more personnel for Mother Base. The two games will be further linked by the ability to bring over character skins as well as freed prisoners of war and rescued VIPs from Ground Zeroes to Phantom Pain, the latter also serving as staff in Mother Base. It was also announced that the PS4 and Xbox One will also be receiving physical and digital copies of Ground Zeroes for $29.99.

A decade-plus after the last Age of Wonders, Triumph Studios has sent word that the third entry in the series will be launching next month, on March 31. Fans of the series can look forward to the same mix of empire building, role playing, and tactical combat as its predecessors. The latest iteration features six leader classes and six main races (human, high-elf, dwarf, draconian, orc, and goblin), along with a world map up of fifty-plus location types, turn-based combat, sieges, a random map generator, and a story-driven campaign. Both versus and co-op multiplayer is also supported over set scenarios and maps created by the random map generator.

The Persona series will be making its debut on the 3DS this fall with the release of Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth. The crossover title will feature characters from Persona 3 and 4 in an Etrian Odyssey-style adventure. In an alternate world, the gangs set out to investigate the legend surrounding the deadly bell chimes that eminate from Yasogami High’s clock tower. Both sets of characters play through their own storylines as each tries to find their way out of the now-enemy-filled labyrinth.

inXile has released the first major update for Wasteland 2. The patch, coming two months after the game made its debut on Steam Early Access, includes “over 2000 bug fixes, gameplay features, performance optimizations and balance improvements along with hours of new content.” An entire section has been added as well, a Prison level for those itching for a tough fight, plus several smaller maps. inXile estimates that the new areas push the gameplay past the 30-hour mark.